Former Folkston mayor and Charlton County commissioner chairman Jack Mays has died after a long illness.

Mr. Mays had just celebrated his 86th birthday in Augusta Friday with his two daughters, said Ann Mays, his wife of 64 years.

He enjoyed getting involved in local issues and remained involved after his service on the Charlton County Commission from Jan. 1, 1979, through Dec. 31, 1982, three years as chairman.

But perhaps his greatest joy came from his radio station, WOKF-AM, which he opened in the 1980s.

“That was his deal. He loved that radio station,’’ Ann Mays said.

He even had fun with it before it went on the air. Among the call letters he applied for was WFBI with the FB standing for Folkston Broadcasting.

“They wouldn’t give him that,’’ Ann Mays said.

The permitting process took so long that Mr. Mays once told the Times-Union he was thinking of changing the call letters to WHEN.

The station broadcast the Charlton County High Indians football games with Mr. Mays, lawyer Kelly Brooks and Jesse Crews, the school’s athletic director, in the booth. When Charlton County put an opponent away, they would sing “Turn Out the Lights, The Party’s Over,’’ just as Dandy Don Meredith did so famously on ABC’s Monday Night Football.

He also led a successful effort to get U.S. 1 four-laned through Folkston to make it a connector between Jacksonville and U.S. 82 in Waycross. The Georgia DOT was widening U.S. 82 and U.S. 280 from Columbus to Brunswick. It was intended to connect the Port of Brunswick with grain producers and and industry in the Midwest.